Off the ball 'punches' being called out by fans following All Blacks vs Springbok match

It was an aggressive and physical affair at Twickenham on Friday, with the Springboks dismantling an All Blacks side, shell-shocked for the first time in a long time.

A crowd of over 80,000 gathered at the iconic English rugby venue to witness the monumental showdown between long-standing rivals, South Africa and New Zealand. Both teams fielded their strongest lineups, creating a heavyweight clash that will be remembered as the largest significant Springbok victories over the All Blacks, ending in a remarkable 7-35 score.

This historic record-breaking defeat surpassed the record established 24 years ago in 1999 when they suffered a 21-point loss to Australia.

The talk following the game, besides the incredible victory, was about Scott Barrett’s reckless second-yellow card which caused the All Blacks to see the game out with 14-men, with just over half the game to play.

Barrett’s fate has since been decided by an independent disciplinary panel as they determined that he face no further punishment – a decision that has perplexed some supporters considering the bans that both England players Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola have received for similar hits, as well as Tonga’s George Moala who is currently sitting on the sidelines with a 5-match ban.

Fans have been pointing out on Twitter the on-field reaction of the Springbok players to Barrett’s hit, with ‘Frank’ asking if what appeared to be three punches to the back of the head was deemed “fine”.

Barrett was dumb, but seriously, this is all fine??? 🤷🏻‍♂️ #NZLvRSApic.twitter.com/RIjsQZ53ji

— Frank (@GregAFC) August 25, 2023

The reaction to the video was measured, with fans calling for this action to be looked at as well. Wellington Sports Guy said: “I understand the anger at Barrett’s challenge it was mindless, unnecessary and dangerous. If we’re serious about protecting the head we have to punish these, but it’s also not ok for a player to hit him in the back of the head multiple times because he’s pissed at the challenge.”

Backed up by Progressive Rugby, a brand focused on protecting the welfare of rugby players, they added: “No, it absolutely isn’t.” to the question if it was fine.

Focusing on the match after the game, All Blacks coach Ian Foster said, “You couldn’t help but be impressed with what they did, they really got stuck into us,

“Their physicality and their set-piece was superb and they had a massive game at scrum and line-out time. That was a big difference.”

“I think both teams needed that game, we certainly did,” added Foster. “We lost the cohesion when we were put under pressure, but I thought our defence in the first 20 minutes was outstanding and if we had more discipline in key areas we could have counter-punched.”

Player of the Match, Damian Willemse told Sky Sports, “It was a very good start for us, a great performance by the team, this will give us some momentum going into the Rugby World Cup. I am the man of the match, but credit to the forwards, they put in a hell of a shift.”